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When Khaejiran awoke, he was considerably less comfortable. He'd been dreaming of... something soft, and warm. After his conversation with Saccularius, all he remembered was the slightly spicy scent of fresh pine sap and a soft, warm feeling. When he awoke though, he was sitting upright out in the open. His hands were bound tightly behind his back, and a wooden stake nailed the bindings into the earth. He might have been able to wriggle free, given time, but in the middle of the camp, he recognized that he wouldn't get far. Blearily blinking the sleep from his eyes, he watched the camp in a full frenzy, hurrying to make preparations for a feast and celebration fitting for a great warrior. They paid him no attention, and all he could really do was watch.

You're in quite a bind, pup.

And there was Saccularius, interrupting his moping with just a hint of mirth in his voice. He wondered for a moment how to communicate with him. He didn't want to start talking to thin air, the last thing he needed was for them to think he was crazy on top of everything else.

It's easier than that. Think a thought pointedly, and I'll be able to hear it. If you must, you can mouth the words, that would probably work.

Like this?

About, yea. I looked through what happened after I died, and there's only one thing that doesn't really make sense.

And that would be?

Curatrix. The way she spoke... as if there were warriors she KNEW would side with her over Mordecai. How would she know? How would she be so sure? I never liked her... she was nice enough, and most of the clan loved her, but I saw something, once. One of the warrior made a joke about the Sun Runners trading away such a gem of a girl for something as worthless as peace... and there was hatred in her eyes. For just a moment, there was indisputable loathing burning in her soul, and I feared for a moment that she'd strike him down. Then, the moment passed, and she laughed at his joke. Her face was a perfect mask of happiness, but I think that's all it was... a Mask. We can plan for Mordecai wanting you dead. We can plan for damn near the entire tribe trying to kill us. You're a quick thinker, and you've got me to help, we'd find a way out. We can't plan for Curatrix though... she's an unknown, and that could easily get us killed.

That... that's a good point. Mordecai, her chief and her mate, claims that the burning god Belluosus wants me dead. Now, she's betting her soul that he's wrong. Not only that, she says she knows people who would back her up, agains the will of the chief and his word on a God's message... I don't buy it. You're right, There's something else at play here. What's her angle?

Hell if I know, but I'm betting that she isn't the carefree soul she pretends to be.

Kage sat in the dirt and squirmed for a good fifteen minutes after Saccularius fell silent, but eventually, the boredom got to him.

So... heard any good jokes lately?

Really? Did you really just ask that?

Can you think of a better way to pass the time?

Damn right I can. Follow me.

He really didn't understand how he could follow the ghost anywhere, but he felt gentle tugging against the back of his mind. He settled himself as comfortably as he could, leaned back against the pole he was tied to, and closed his eyes, willing himself after the tugging. There was a twisting feeling, followed by a falling sensation, then He and Saccularius stood alone in a dueling circle. The bright sun, hung at high noon, and Kage got the feeling it would stay there as long as Saccularius wanted it to.

"Alright, pup. You're got pluck, I'll give you that, but you can't win every fight with a one-two-three sucker punch. I've got two days to teach you as much about fighting as I can. After that you're either dead or free, and we can relax the pace, but until then, you hit the grind, am I clear?"

"How much can I learn about fighting from a dream? None of this is real."

Saccularius lunged forwards and swiped razor sharp talons across Kage's face. Blood splashed, and he howled with pain, but within seconds, the injury had healed.

"True, none of this is 'real.' But, within this 'dream' everything is almost exactly alike the real world. You can't practice to get the muscle memory in, but you can learn the theory, learn to recognize the attacks, and most importantly, learn how to focus through pain."

He'd fallen to his back from the painful slash, cradling his torn face as his flesh mended beneath his fingers. He ignored the hand Saccularius offered and climbed slowly to his feet.

"And I suppose that you'll make me a grand fighter in just a few days?"

"No. I will teach you to fight as much as I can, and then we hope it is enough."

They spent an hour mock fighting as both Kage and Saccularius slowly grew more frustrated. Feint, block, swipe. Swipe, duck, block counter-feint, swipe. From the beginning, it was obvious. Kage just wasn't made for traditional combat. His roundhouse swipes lacked any sort of power, and his stance was always wrong, no matter how many times Saccularius corrected it. He'd ben beaten up enough times that he at least could manage a decent block, but none of his attacks posed any real threat at all. He shook himself back to the real world just long enough to accept the meager breakfast he was hand fed before sinking right back into Saccularius's arena.

"Alright pup, new plan. How fast can you run?"

"It's not my fault, this just all feels wrong, all of it."

"Mhmm, generations of fighting techniques feel wrong. Alright master, teach me. If we're all wrong, how would YOU fight?"

By that point, he'd been beaten and bloodied enough that he wanted nothing more than to wipe the false humility right off of the wolf's face. The worst part though, was that he was right. Kage didn't have any chance of winning an honest fight. But... He'd won two fight already. Yes, he'd all but cheated, but he'd broken no rules, because there were no rules. He'd done something unexpected... what would be the last thing an opponent would expect? Wolves fight with their claws, either with broad roundhouse swipes or with swift raking slashes. A thought entered his mind, followed by another, and then he had a plan.

"Put your paws up then, I'll show you just how 'weak' I am"

Saccularius's hands went up and out, in a wide guard. From there, he could easily block any swipe thrown, and with a twist of his arm, he could also catch a rake. From what he'd learned over the past hour, it was a solid defensive stance. There were few, if any attacks that could be made, but it was considered a solid defense. Kage sank low to the ground. He turned almost completely sideways, left arm up and palm in, right arm far back. Traditionally, the stance would use the front arm for meager defense, and the back for roundhouse swipes with crushing strength. Such attacks could be blocked easily though, and few actually used it in combat.

"Poor choice boy. Strength does not equate a victory, especially the meager strength you have."

Strength is nothing. A man with strength might break things weaker than he, but a man with skill can break anything at all. Everything breaks, you need only strike where the strong are weak.

White hot fury burned through him, and he didn't even question the whispering voice at the edge of his conscious. He wanted nothing more than to shut Saccularius up and prove him wrong. He was angry, at Saccularius, at himself, and at the whole damn world. He wore his rage like a cloak, and the air around him twisted with red heat waves as his rage grew to affect the dream itself. His instincts manifested as a voice in his mind, and his limbs flowed along those instincts. Natural. Perfect.

One strike, unexpected, hard and fast to stun.

His right arm came in, not in a round house, but in a straight line right between Saccularius's wrists. He struck the older wolf right in the nose with the heel of his palm, and Saccularius's head snapped backwards as howled in pain and clutched his face.

One strike, while he is pained, to wound him. Aim for the joints. A whole is always weakest where its parts come together.

He stepped in with his left foot, grabbed Saccularius by the shoulders and pulled down hard as he thrust upwards with his right knee. The bone of his kneecap hit Saccularius in the solar plexus, just below the sternum where the two halves of his ribcage fused together. With a sound like dry wood snapping, several of his ribs broke, and Saccularius doubled over in pain.

Do not wound your opponent. Do not defeat him. Destroy him. Break him into pieces so small that he will never rise to fight you again. It is not enough to win a fight. You must win every fight he will ever give, all in one moment. Next time, he will be stronger. Next time, he will bring more warriors. Do not give him that chance.

He twisted, placing his elbow the back of the older wolf's neck, then jumped backwards and pushed down. With the extra pressure and positioning, Saccularius lost his footing, and slammed into the ground face first with both of their weights behind the fall. Kage's elbow impacted the back of the older wolf's neck with the strength of his weight accompanying his meager muscles. When they hit the ground, the force was focused onto that one point, and his neck snapped like a dry twig beneath a heavy heel. The impact reverberated up Kage's arm, jarring his shoulder, and his limb hung loosely as he rolled up and bounced to his feet. He didn't know if his opponent was beaten, all he knew was that they were both wounded and he was ready to beat him into the sand as many times as he needed until he stopped trying to get up, but he didn't. He lay there, unmoving, for a solid fifteen seconds as his corpse fought to put itself together. As his bones fused and healed, they cracked with a similar sound to what they'd made when breaking, and the older wolf slowly clambered to his feet.

"By the black fruit of the tainted tree, who taught you that? I've not seen anyone fight like that, not since..."

He fell silent, and an epiphany of some sort slammed across his face as surprise and awe quickly morphed into recognition. A laugh spread across his face as he looked Kage over once again

"Oh. You're his son. How in jagged hell did you end up this far from the mountains?"